Scottish donations help families survive South Asia floods

14 Sep 2017

Millions of people in South Asia have been devastated by flooding following the heaviest rainfall in more than 15 years. As is so often the case when natural disasters strike, the poorest have been hit hardest.

Across India, Nepal and Bangladesh almost 40 million are affected by the deluge. Crops which families rely on for food have been washed away and nearly 600,000 people are now homeless. The dirty water and poor sanitary condition bring with them the risk of deadly diseases like cholera.

Catholics around the world are uniting to help our sisters and brothers, pledging money through Caritas Internationalis, the network of Catholic aid agencies.

In Nepal, where the flooding triggered a series a deadly landslides, we’ve pledged £10,000 to provide food and shelter to communities who’re in dire need of support.

Our partners working on the ground are feeding hot meals to more than 3,500 homeless people twice per day. We’re making sure that special care is provided to the most vulnerable; pregnant women and new mothers are being given especially nutritious meals to keep them and their children healthy.

Donations from Scotland have also allowed us to give dried food to people who’ve been left nothing to eat. Rice, lentils and other cooking essentials like salt and sugar are distributed for families to cook with.

As well as food, we’ve been able to provide very practical essentials to help people cope; torches, plastic sacks to keep things dry, tarpaulins and mats to form basic shelter and try to provide a degree of comfort. Soap, shampoo, sanitary towels and other hygiene products are being distributed to help people return to normal living conditions and maintain a sense of dignity as they rebuild their lives.

In India we’ve pledged £20,000 to give families fresh, clean drinking water. This is crucial work in regions of the country where community water supplies are submerged by flooding or have been contaminated by the surges of dirty water.Your donations will help even more families in their hour of need.

When you give to our emergency response fund you’ll be helping us carry out more of this vital work, and support people whenever and wherever the next emergency strikes.

We’ll make sure your donations give people the vital help they need in the immediate aftermath, and also in the long-term as we they work to rebuild their lives.